_____________________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Otherworld <> Chapter 4 Awakening Copyright 1992 Bryce Koike _____________________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Any comments, criticisms, opinions, etc, are welcome. I can be reached on Internet as: bkoike@sdcc13.ucsd.edu or mage@netlink.cts.com -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ". . . the winds of change consume the land, while we remain in the shadow of summers now past. When all the leaves have fallen and turned to dust will we remain entrenched within our ways. Indifference, the plague that moves throughout this land Omen signs in the shape of things to come." ("Severence" -- The Dead Can Dance) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Date: September 8, 1992 Location: Stockton, California Otherworld Time: 10:36 am There are no shadows to hide in while the sun is in the sky. I must remind myself to have patience and to learn of my position. This certainly must be some new weapon used by the Jupiter Marines and those who serve them like slaves. I will know patience. Like the stoutest of trees I stand and wait. I will wait for my time to come. "TRACY!" came a scream from around the street's corner. She looked up as Matt came tearing around the corner, fright in his eyes. "Get in the car!" he yelled. Vince trailed behind him. Tracy shook her head. "What? What's going on, Matt?" He opened his side and leaped in. Vince gave her an innocent shrug and got in the car as well. "What's going on, Matt?" asked Tracy as she sat in her chair and buckled in. Matt already had the gun in his hand and grabbed two clips to stuff in his pocket. "I'm getting us out of here," he said. "No." Tracy's hand clutched Matt's own and prevented him from turning the key. "You tell me what the hell is going on first. Then we can go." "Tracy, there's no time to screw around!" "I'M NOT SCREWING AROUND!" she shrieked. "I'm tired of your fucking secrets! I want answers and I want them NOW! We go NOWHERE before you tell me why!" Their war of the wills went on for several seconds before Matt's own logic won out. "Okay," he said and took his hands off the steering wheel. "Okay. I'll tell you. I was at the corpse when I felt something." "Felt what?" "I- I don't know. Like a mind. In my mind. And when I looked up, I saw something watching Vince and me from a building." Vince perked up. "Saw what? Someone else?" "SomeTHING else, Vince. I can't describe it. All I knew was that it was wrong and evil and that it didn't belong there." Tracy sighed. "Matt, I think you need some rest. We're all kinda uptight and maybe the pressure on you has just gotten to be too much." "NO!" He slammed the steering wheel with both fists. "I KNOW what I saw, Tracy! I wasn't hallucinating. My mind is functioning just fine." "Then explain yourself." Voices. They shook me awake from my meditations. Like broken ice on a pond I awoke. Proud, angry voices they were. That of children and babes in arms. I took swift steps to the window and peered down. In an ancient 20th Century vehicle there were three people. Two boys and a girl. I watched them quietly, unjudgingly. Then one of them looked my way. Shock! He was Japanese! I turned from the window and tried to calm my shock. Was he abandoned here with me? Then why did he consort with the enemy? Or perhaps they have done something to his mind? I shook my head to clear it. Irrational thought was unbecoming and a shortfall. I must be patient. Watch them. Learn from them. One thing kept going through my mind, though. He had seen me. I was certain of it. It should have been impossible, but he had seen me! "Matt? I'm waiting." "Shh." "What?" "Shut, up!" Matt hissed. He peered up at the building. "There was a man there." Tracy nearly exploded. "Oh, right. First we're alone in this world, then we find a corpse and now there's aliens and people all over the place." "Vince, get the shotgun." "What?! No way, Matt! Vince, put the shotgun back." Matt grabbed her in no kind manner and pressed her against the door, her hair splaying out against the glass. "Tracy, whether or not you want to face it, we are not alone here," he rumbled. "There is a man dead on the street back there. He was more then murdered. He was MUTILATED. I SAW something back there on that street and I know I SAW a man watching us from that window. If you want to stay here, then get the hell out of my car because I am leaving." "The Slool?" murmured the lord. "What are geneticists?" He stroked the head of a Wolf, recently tamed by an Elder. "A fine breed of animal," the lord remarked. Diplomat Potas-Trool bowed. "Indeed, lord. A geneticist is one who changes an animal before it is born to permanently alter it and give it and its offspring superior qualities." "And a warrior species yet?" "That is correct, lord." "Hmm." The lord carefully squeezed with his long fingers. The wolf struggled but could not move. "And they wish to ally with us?" Potas-Trool glanced at the suffocating wolf. "Ah, yes, lord. They were slaves in their home and Ecee-Rushe and I have offered a degree of freedom which they have never known before. They are eager to join with us." The wolf tired the lord. A swift twist and the creature's neck broke. "And what freedom is this, my diplomat?" "We will give them lodging and land to own in return for utter subservience to us and our cause." The lord smiled. "And in return they will trade us the secrets of technology. This is very fine, Potas-Trool. Attendant!" An Eternal rushed forward with its head bowed. "Lord, you call?" he cried. "I would like to see this . . . wolf . . . at the public vivisection tonight as a sort of, oh, appetizer. You understand my desire?" "Yes, lord, I understand! You will not be disappointed!" The attendant gathered the wolf's body in his hands and rushed out the door. "Of course I won't," muttered the lord. Tonight he'd hear one of the prisoners scream. He was in dire need for recreation of a decidedly violent nature. The lord berated himself for killing his favorite attendant last night. Such foolishness to fulfill a mere bloodthirst! "The blood rites tonight will be most fine, don't you think, diplomat Potas-Trool?" The dipomat bowed. "Indeed it will, lord. And we will see how these manlings treat death." "Yes, death. How curious. Potas-Trool, tell me of your bloodline." The diplomat bowed. "Lord, my creation was by your father's father's seed during the Day of Prosperity. At that time it was decreed by the Elders that his was truly noble seed and that I would be blessed in the name of the Overmind. I hear that there were many beautiful sacrifices that day." "So you have existed for a long time, Potas-Trool?" "Yes, lord. I remember when you came forth from the Breeding as but a wolfling. Even then you were quite vicious. Your father was proud." "I am bothered, Potas-Trool. Things bother me. Is this right?" Bowing, the Potas-Trool said, "Lord, the nobility is often troubled by things. While undesirable it is unavoidable. What bothers you, lord?" The lord sighed. He slumped back in his chair. "My name, Potas-Trool is Geentung-Potas-Albon-Llurisa. My name is an eternal reminder of my lineage and my responsibilities. My diplomat, I have no wish to spend the rest of my lifespan upon this desolate land." "Lord, you worry overmuch. Our numbers grow as we speak as does our Presence. Soon we will leave this world." The lord shook his head. "We entered into our wars, Potas-Trool, with the expectations of victory. And indeed we have been most victorious. All of our clans under a single banner -- The Eternals! And yet here in this mere shadow of a manling world I feel great foreboding." "Foreboding, lord? Of what? There is nothing to fear." "Potas is your blood line, my diplomat. But Trool is your Mindover name! Never forget that! The duty of the Mindover is to study and learn. Have you not learned from your own words with me of the people who crawl the world known as Earth? They are young and immature and yet they have already gained the power to annihilate their world many times over! And with the inception of that weapon they gained a level of peace which has taken our people millenia to develop! I fear these people, Potas-Trool and often I wonder if we should not go about our actions with greater caution." "But, lord, already we are most furtive. We plan carefully and execute our plans with great precision. What greater caution should we take?" "I fear that our great pride will be our own ruin, Potas-Trool. We accept victory as if it is already in our grasp. And yes, certain, Potas-Trool, there is little, if anything, to stop us. Only recently we joined forces with Lieutenant Moksa-Dwulan who had wandered the northern countryside of this continent. Yes, we are stronger than ever. But to hear even these Slool speak of deaths stranger than I can imagine . . . I am confused, Potas-Trool. Confused and worried." The diplomat raised a single arm, his barbs no longer along the length it but standing out at attention. "Lord," he said, "I will say to you that we will have no fears. We will be victorious." The lord nodded. "My diplomat, I pray that you are correct." "Where are we going?" demanded Tracy. "Dammit, Matt, where the hell are we going?" "Tracy, just listen to me. There's something in this city and whatever it is, it's not friendly. I don't care if it was a man or a monster who killed that guy. Something's going on. I say we get the hell out of here." "But, Matt-" "FUCK YOU! There's a handle to your right. If you want out, feel free. But I'm getting out of here in ten seconds. Well?" Tracy searched for an effective retort but none came. "Okay, Matt, we'll play the game your way. But I don't agree with your methods this time. No way." The drive was tense and devoid of conversation. Matt slammed in a tape to give him a greater excuse not to talk. Tracy did her best to ignore the trash coming over the speakers. Vince crossed his arms and decided that this was definitely not very fun. The Eternal lord looked down at the Slool emisarry with great amusement. "Explain to me why you need such items for your . . . genetics," he said in the Slool tongue. A simple tongue, it was. Slithery and slimy, but effective. The emissarry, Pasru, bowed. "Oh great lord," he purred, "such items are vital for our work. Do you enter battle without your weapon? Neither would we attempt our work without our equipment." "And the first is this electricity?" "Indeed, oh lord. It will power machines, light the city, power weapons, and give all of us many, many more powers." "Perhaps you ask for too much, emissary of the Slool. Greed has been the downfall of a great many races. I think that I would like to have a more . . . immediate demonstration. This quest for electricity may continue, but I will only give you a quarter the resources you require." "But, great lord-" "SILENCE!" roared the lord. "This is my rule and decree! You will have what I give you and NO MORE! Begone!" Two warriors stepped forward and grasping the Slool by his shoulders escorted him from the room. The lord gestured for his diplomats to advance. They bowed before him. "Rise," was his command, lapsing back to the more comfortable lord's tongue. "What have you determined?" Ecee-Rushe raised his hand and said, "They are not a proud people, lord. They are diligent workers and look forward to the great freedoms you have given them. There is unrest among them and confusion as to why you place obstacles in their path." Potas-Trool raised his hand. "And yet there is great reverence for our kind, lord. There is fear and awe among them, but it is tempered by a worship. To them we are a great people and our magical powers fill them with wonder." "Sala," called the lord. "What say you?" The new advisor stepped forward and bowed. "Lord," he said, "they should be treated fairly and with great uniformity. If you prove to be too erratic they may lose their faith. Remember, these are a people accustomed to slavery. Do not confuse them overmuch, lord." A warrior entered the room and bowed. The crown of his skull bore the markings of none other than an imperial guard! He dipped to a knee and shouted, "Lord! Our skulk has returned and has brought disturbing news!" "Speak, warrior," rumbled the lord. "We sent the skulk forth as you ordered with instructions to only watch. Alas, he was discovered!" "Impossible!" shouted the lord. "How can this be?" "One of their number posesses great powers not unlike those of the Mindover. He was able to hunt down our skulk and pierce through his guise like the sun cuts through night!" The lord pounded a fist into his throne. "Damnation," he cursed. "This should not be possible. Ecee-Rushe! You yourself claimed that these manlings possessed no such abilities! That they were a technological race that had no use for magic or mind powers. Explain. Explain NOW!" Hurrying forward, the diplomat crooned, "Lord, there was no such thoughts on the minds of the manlings we have interrogated. They have no familiarity with magic or any other such powers. They are regarded as foolishness and immaturity. These people possess no such powers." "Paugh! Then why does this one have it? Look upon him!" cried the lord. The Elders formed a watchglobe between their number. "Look! He is small and frail. His sight is damaged and he must wear equipment to correct it. His hands and arms are too skinny to wield any weapon. This is the creature which we must fear? This tiny wolfling?" The warrior bowed deeply. "Lord," he rumbled, "if there is one, there may be more. We must exercise greater caution in the subjugation of their species." "Agreed," the lord said. "Have the skulk who so miserably failed executed. His incompetance has revealed our hand far too soon! Imperial guard, inform the next skulk that he will practice greater caution or he will meet the fate of his brother." The warrior bowed, turned on his heel, and left. With the departure of the three children, I felt free to investigate the corpse. It had been carefully dismembered and destroyed. Great care had been taken to spread its organs about. Would the Alliance truly do such barbaric things to their own? This was a question I was loathe to answer. To reduce ourselves to the Old ways was unthinkable. To reduce ourselves to wild animals was unthinkable. I had tarried long enough with the corpse. It was dead and there was nothing which I could do to save it. Carefully I augmented my senses until I found the trail I so desired. I must follow those three children and determine what they know. If they are spies, I will interrogate them and then they will die. If they are trapped here as I am, though, then perhaps we can find a way to help each other. Like a bubble upon a needle I will pop and disappear. Like the snake in the grass. I will blend into the sky and the earth and become one with it all. How did he see me? What is this land? What was it that he had seen that frightened him so? How could he have seen me? I needed answers but every moment only raised greater questions. This could not be allowed to continue overlong. Deep in the city of San Jose the constant work continued. It had not been the destination of their plans, but it would serve its purpose. The power plant would soon be functional and work units could quickly be used to scavenge all equipment within their sphere of influence. Little talk was necessary between their people for they knew each specific task by heart. And in the sun's light their skin flashed a metallic blue for they were the Quunan Mur! -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- The sleek black car carefully came to a stop. Towering beside it was a great casino. Once brilliant neon signs were dead, fated to never shine again. Scantily-clad women adorned billboards. The car's door slowly opened releasing the cold air within. A single tall, skinny individual emerged. No clothes covered his body. No shoes adorned his feet. Like the car his own body was a shining black. No features graced his face -- it was a smooth, solid shield. The being raised a fist toward the casino and in the distance a slow song could be heard. The fist came down. Slowly, the neon lights along the casino began to come to life. The being turned and carefully closed the door to its car. Then it brisquely walked into its casino. As it entered the glass doors it took a lasting glimpse over its shoulder. Across the entire globe there was only a single light along its surface and that light's origin was a sprawling desert city known as Las Vegas. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Lanterns served as lighting, wastefully burning needed propane. Lying back in a couch Tracy read a book she had found lying in the hotel room. Matt appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry," he said. "I was an asshole. It- It's been the pressure, Tracy. I guess that I started dominating things from the start and never stopped. I shouldn't have attempted to take so much resonsibility on. Um, how much longer would you like to stay here?" Tracy shrugged. "Until we're sure that you're feeling better. I don't like all the driving around anyway. I think that it'd be best if we just hung out around here for a while, you know? Just take it easy." "Okay. I'm going to bed." "Matt?" He turned. "Matt, I'm not mad at you. Night." She watched him go, a bit astonished at how meek he looked. Turning back to her book, Tracy struggled to find her place. It felt strange using the apartment, but the keys were there and the place and been unlocked. She could not concentrate on the book, though, and so with a sigh she closed it and put it down. Tomorrow, in the morning, she'd try again. Tracy turned the knob on the lantern and watched its light fade to nothing. Silently she crawled into the bed and closed her eyes to go to sleep. Something kept bothering her, though. Something that she could not figure out. "Go to sleep," she whispered to herself. "Worry about it in the morning." Reluctantly, her body found its way to sleep. They had chosen the human female as the main course for their entertainment. With fright on her face, the workers tied her to the bench with crude ropes. The lord strode forward into the light. The room was crowded for this was mean to be a private affair. The diplomats, like twin lovers, lurked in the corner to watch. Sala, this being his first, watched with eager fascination. As usual, the guards showed no emotion at all. Tied to a chair in the corner her mate screamed at them in anger. The lord, despite his new understanding of their language, chose to drown the manling out. Soon enough he'd get opinions from the diplomats and his advisor. Jan watched the monsters as they spoke to each other in some foreign language. Was this going to be rape? "Oh, god," she moaned, her face white with fear. "What are you going to do to her!" screamed Chris. He struggled against the ropes but they only creaked uselessly. "Bastards!" he spat. "You sick bastards!" The tallest of them all, sporting several stripes of blue along his forehead and skull, approached her. He stopped when he reached the bench and raised his arms. He called out to the others in the room and many nodded. "Stop it," moaned Jan. "Please, don't." Carefully the lord undid her clothing, cutting it away with a razor-edged fingernail when it got in the way. Chris watched with horror in his eyes. "This isn't happening!" moaned Jan. The lord slowly caressed her cheek with a single gnarled finger. "I want to hear you scream," purred the lord in English. Jan's scream easily pierced the thin walls of the room. He watched the shadows move in the night. One was abnormal. It did not moves like branches in the moonlight. With greater concentration he brought out a figure. It was human, not the alien which he had seen before. Feeling no ill will from the man, Matt opened his window and felt the cool breeze come in. "I see you," he whispered to the wind. The man froze. Suddenly he seemed to disappear into the night! "Oh no you don't," whispered Matt and he concentrated. Harder. An outline appeared and then it slowly brought out features. Matt reached out with a hand and curled a finger, beckoning. "Come," he said with his mind alone. "I will not hurt you. There is nothing to fear." The man crouched like a frightened animal, uncertain as to whether he should bolt or stay. "What happens to the fist when the hand is opened? I carry no weapons. You may approach." The man carefully walked forward. Matt watched with amazement as the camoflauge melted away from the man's suit to reveal a dull grey jumpsuit. He looked Japanese. Stopping a yard from the window he carefully bowed. "My name is Jiro Mitsuo of the Combined Alliances." Matt nodded. "My name's Matt . . ." His voice trailed off as blood seemed to be surging up into his head. Why was everything becoming so warm? He raised his hands to his head and could nearly feel it throbbing. "What?" he moaned and then collapsed. "How curious," remarked Jiro. "Now what shall I do?"